There’s a very fast and easy way to improve your pantry and take your dishes from good to great: quick pickles.
The acidic lift and textural crunch of a pickled vegetable can be a key component or an excellent modifier to many recipes. Just think of how the daikon and carrot in a banh mi adds the complexity to that classic sandwich, or how pickled Italian long hot peppers could be sprinkled on top of a pepperoni pizza to take it to a new level.
In this episode of Robb Report’s How to, chef Bradley Kilgore takes us through the steps of how to make a quick pickle at home, using onions as his vegetable. He explains the core ingredients of salt, vinegar, and sugar are the base of the pickle, and then offers variations to infuse the creation with even more flavor. In this case he’s incorporating warming spices and fresh herbs to the mix for a delicious condiment that will store for over a month in your refrigerator.
Kilgore is an excellent instructor on the topic. With an outstanding resume that includes stints at Michelin three-starred Chicago restaurants Alinea and L20, he’s now the chef behind multiple hit South Florida restaurants like Oise and the Concours Club, as well as a forthcoming concept inside San Francisco’s iconic Transamerica building. Additionally, the Kansas City native co-founded Pizza Freak with Philadelphia chef Brad Daniels, crafting artisan frozen pizzas that deliver around the City of Brotherly Love and ship east of the Mississippi. The quick-pickled onions that Kilgore makes in this video would be great on top of a focaccia-style pizza, that’s for sure.
